Introduction and Classification

Euglena is a genus of unicellular protists that is the most widely studied member of its phylum. They are single celled organisms that contain characteristics of both animal and plants. Currently, there are over 1000 species of Euglena that have been discovered, and many more that have yet to be seen. Due to the dual characteristics of this organism, there is much debate on how they have evolved and which clade they should be placed in. Binomial Nomenclature, using the five-kingdom classification scheme, has placed the Euglena accurately into the Kingdom Protista, in the Phylum Euglenoidea , in the class mastigophora, in the order Euglenoidida, in the family Euglenoidae, and lastly in the genus Euglena.